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Sigourney Weaver: Ghostbusters Reboot Backlash ‘Childish & Cruel'

Original Ghostbusters star Sigourney Weaver responds to the online backlash of Paul Feig's 2016 reboot. When it comes to beloved films of the 1980s, there are few on the level of Ghostbusters. Seamlessly blending hilarious jokes and physical comedy with elements of horror and fantasy, Ivan Reitman's Ghostbusters is one many hold near and dear to their hearts. Ghostbusters is truly an iconic film, and when iconic films are remade or iconic franchises rebooted, there are always going to be people bothered by that.

In the case of Feig's reboot of Ghostbusters though, the usual levels of hatred and vitriol seemed to be dialed up to 11, with many expressing absolute disdain for the project before it had even completed production. Those against the film cited multiple reasons for their backlash, but whatever the reasoning, Ghostbusters (2016) seemed to have one of the most vocal camps of detractors in recent film history.

While plenty of people involved with either the original Ghostbusters film or Feig's reboot have previously offered their thoughts on the controversy, EW was recently able to ask Sigourney Weaver for her opinion on all the negativity concerning Feig's film. To say that Weaver didn't hold back with her response would be putting it mildly, with Dana Barrett's former portrayer calling out the backlash as entirely unjustified. Here's what she had to say:

“I was very surprised by the backlash. I can’t begin to interpret it, frankly. I thought it was very childish and cruel. I guess if you saw the movie as a kid you would feel possessive over it. But come on, things change. Women are at the table, and there are plenty of projects to go around. It was a good movie, I thought. They were splendid in it, and no one’s taking away the original. So I’ll never be quite able to understand what happened except that it was unfortunate."

"I think it might have more to do with the internet and showing your secret small self on the internet in a way you’d be embarrassed to be if you were out at a bar with friends, acting like a jerk. So I don’t know, I don’t think this is the end of this kind of thing, because it’s happening in so many areas, personal and professional, to all kinds of businesses. I thought it was really sad that it happened to that project. But I think they’ve all moved on so hopefully everyone learned something from that.”

Whatever one's opinion on Feig's reboot, it's not hard to see why Weaver would champion a Ghostbusters team comprised of heroic women, as it was Weaver's badass portrayal of Ellen Ripley in Alien and Aliens that helped prove female characters could kick just as much ass on-screen as men could. In fact, the Dana Barrett role was quite a marked departure for Weaver at the time, with Dana falling much more into the damsel in distress category than Ripley ever would.

Weaver was of course one of several Ghostbusters stars to make cameos in the reboot, playing Dr. Rebecca Gorin, mentor of Kate McKinnon's character. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts also popped up for a bit in the film, which one could presume would serve as giving their blessing to the project. That is until Aykroyd's recent negative comments concerning why he thought the reboot failed. Perhaps he and Weaver need to get together and hash things out.